The Raven's Crucible

Tag: Solomonic magic

  • Solomonic Magic in Practice: Personal Purity

    We’re now several posts deep into an exploration of consecrations in the Solomonic tradition. We’ve discussed consecrations of tools and of physical space. There’s one final piece of the puzzle to talk about when it comes to consecration: consecration of the magician themselves. And this is one of the most important elements, as the thing…

  • Solomonic Magic in Practice: Drawing the Circle

    Over the last few weeks we’ve explored the idea of consecrations in the Solomonic tradition. That everything brought into the ritual space is exorcised and blessed ahead of time, to give the magician a spiritually clean environment in which to work. There are two final pieces we haven’t talked about yet: the purification of space,…

  • Solomonic Magic in Practice: Blessings and Consecrations

    In the last post we talked about the first step in consecrating Solomonic tools and materials: exorcism of any unwanted influences that might be present to start with. But there is a second stage required for a consecration. We need to bring those influences or psychic impressions we do want into the item as well.…

  • Solomonic Magic in Practice: Exorcism and a Clean Slate

    Last week we talked about some high-level theoretical frameworks of Solomonic magic. This week we’re going to be diving into the details of putting them into practice. Starting with the first step in nearly every Solomonic operation: consecrations. Why are tools and materials in Solomonic traditions consecrated prior to an operation? There are a couple…

  • Solomonic Magic In Practice: A General Framework for Conjuration

    I’d like to start a series of posts that dig deeper into the practical aspects of Solomonic magic. It’s a form of magic that seems to be frequently mischaracterized in some modern circles, as needlessly adversarial or coercive towards spirits. I find that view to be somewhat shallow. Solomonic magic has a tremendous amount to…

  • Beginning Spirit Work: Solomonic Conjuration for the Modern Mage

    I’ve written previously about how to get started with divination, and how to build a solid magical practice more generally. The vast bulk of my magical work at this point, however, is spirit conjuration – specifically in or inspired by the Solomonic tradition. Let’s say you’re learning your chosen divination system and you have your…

  • The Magic Triangle: Ease, Consistency, and Miracles

    I’ve discussed in previous posts my own long and meandering exploration into magic. I’ve spent over a decade struggling with a simple question: what can be accomplished through magic? I’ve tried to consistently find ways to push the bounds of what I thought was possible. In doing so, I’ve repeatedly struggled with cases where magic…

  • On the Role of Grimoiric Traditionalism

    I’ve encountered a couple folks recently asking what are essentially variations on the same core question: “I’m reading grimoire X, and there are a lot of heavy-handed Christian elements that seem excessive or make me uncomfortable. Can I modify these bits or take them out?” It’s a great question, and the answer (as with most…

  • On Magical Language

    Meredith Graves, occult powerhouse and magical director for Kickstarter, makes a wonderful observation that our own first exposure to magic – whether it comes through fairytales, Disney movies, or stage illusionists – leaves a lasting impression in the way we comprehend and interact with the unseen later in life.1 That initial conception of magic sets…

  • What They Meant Was…

    One of my biggest pet peeves with modern analyses of historical texts is when an author states – with authoritative confidence – they have decoded the true meaning of a text, and that it is something only tenuously implied by the text itself. And this happens all the time with magic and occult topics. Things…